Act as though the world is watching.  It is good and helpful advice—but it also is the mark of a man who has not yet trained himself to do the right thing, simply because it is the right thing.  Instead, he acts rightly because he would be ashamed if others saw him acting wrongly.  The thought of shame keeps him from wayward conduct.

But as Marcus Aurelius observed: “A man should be upright, not kept upright.”  And the only way to stand tall on our own is through practice and exercise.

Jefferson’s letter to Peter Carr continues: “Encourage all your virtuous dispositions, and exercise them whenever an opportunity arises, being assured that they will gain strength by exercise as a limb of the body does, and that exercise will make them habitual.”

Every choice we make conditions our moral muscle—either strengthening our integrity or emboldening our treachery.  And the thought of shame or the fear of punishment may help us for a time—but eventually we must gain enough strength to stand on our own.  Do you share the ball at recess because it is right?  Or so that the teacher won’t take it away?  Do you refrain from an unkind word to a classmate out of the virtue of charity?  Or out of fear of receiving detention?

A Columbus Classical Academy student is upright in conduct…not kept upright in conduct.